Today I must say it a drastic change from the civil rights and racial tension of Alabama to the sight of hurricane Katrina that happened in this small place name Bay St. Louis in Mississippi. We had a three hour conference during the day where we got a chance to here a couple of stories from people that witness the devastation of the hurricane. After the conference we took a tour of the city and got a chance to see the actual damages that hurricane Katrina caused in the town. The damage was real serve and the people of Bay St. Louis will never forget that. It has been almost two years later and the people and the community is not where they need to be but they have made progress from the initial day of the hurricane. The houses were swept away and there is still a great amount of people staying in FEMA trailers. The fortunate people are rebuilding their houses and the ones that did not have any damage are already back in their house. During the tour what struck me the most was the poor and poverty part of the town. These people were basically forced to move because the apartment complexes were not being rebuild and if it was rebuild the cost of living was too much for the people.

Day 7: Bay St. Louis

Wow, what a day this was!  We got up really early to go back to the library and setup for our long awaited oral histories.  After some of our reflection time on all the information we had heard in regards to Hurricane Katrina from the day before, and all the horrific images we had seen, I was excited to get to actually hear in depth stories from people who had lived through it.  At the same time, I feel like I went into the day somewhat skeptical, and with somewhat mixed emotions.  It’s hard to go out and see the massacred homes with no remains left but the stairs or the mailbox, and then imagine approaching a way to help through simply talking to people rather than getting out and building homes or something involving more physical work.  Also, all the talk about the money spent to refurbish statues in the library, as well as seeing some people who are relatively speaking, doing well as compared to some who are still in FEMA trailers or without even that, was a complex model to piece together.  I can say after doing the interviews, I can totally understand why that was the task that we were chosen to do, as it forced us to step a little out of our comfort zone to do interviews, but in a way that helped us to grow and learn, all while providing the victims with almost a form of therapy and rejuvenation.

Without getting in to any specifics about my particular oral histories, I can say overall that it was touching to see how we as the interviewers gradually gained the respect of the interviewee, and how as this occurred, their willingness to open up and not fear that they will be judged or rejected.  It really renewed my sense of how important it is just to be a good listener, and show you care about other people, even if you can’t provide them with money or a physical way to make it better, just listening goes a long way.

Though stratification is far from absent in the different levels of recovery from the hurricane, it is an institution in society that simply exists, and there isn’t any way I see to make that change.  At the same time, it is true that we do need people to recover at different times and in different manners in order for more people to be available to help others and resources to be available.  The more affluent people as a general rule did same to fare better in some circumstances, be it access to help, a trailer, medical attention, etc.  Yet, this is just kind of the way it is, and we can’t expect everyone to wait for the very last person to get back on their feet and try to move together all at the same time because it is just not reasonable.  It is not fair to wish the worst on people of higher socioeconomic status in order for them to experience what some of the most underprivileged go through, we must try to identify with everyone and remember how much more horrible this is than any of us can really begin to comprehend.  The oral histories really opened my eyes a lot more to how resilient these people are who returned, how much lending a helping hand makes a difference, and helped to put the city of Bay St. Louis in perspective for me.

We later had the opportunity to watch a Finnish movie with English sub titles called “Mother of Mine.”  It was by far one of my favorite movies I’ve ever seen; it even brought me to tears.  I definitely want to try and find this movie to buy.  This was a neat cultural activity to get a glimpse of some of the library activities, and the people in the area.

Day 8 & 9: New Orleans

We traveled to New Orleans today after a trip to the Laundromat, and conducting the last oral history at the library.  We had a good discussion on the bus about what the individual oral histories meant to us, and how we felt about our time at the library.  I feel like it was a general consensus that people got much more out of it than they expected to when they went in.  This was definitely a major eye opening experience for me.

After checking in, we walked around and went shopping and got dinner.  I can’t say we had the most pleasant dinner ever, but we definitely got to experience the culture of New Orleans.  A walk down Bourbon Street, lined with tons of restaurants, bars, clubs, and souvenior stores, is unlike anything I have ever experienced, and definitely gives new meaning to why they call it “The Big Easy.”  I have never seen anything like some of the hair styles, clothing, and PDA that I witnessed while visiting this street.  Quite a culture shock from the seemingly a little more conservative and smaller town atmosphere of Bay St. Louis.  We also learned to be very careful due to the rising levels of crime in the city, particularly after the hurricane, so we made sure to travel in groups, and hide all personal belongings.

The next day we visited the organization called ACORN, and heard a very different account of the hurricane.  It was much more of a geographical and more city overview, and less personal hard times such as we experienced in Bay St. Louis, so the combination really rounded out our experience learning about the hurricane.  Despite all the news reports, I really had failed to realize that the levies were what really had caused all the damage to New Orleans.  Between Bay St. Louis and New Orleans, it was two very different sites due to the water vs. wind damage, as well as the types of houses and attention that the places had received.  Though we heard much more information regarding New Orleans, the help didn’t seem to have filtered down to them as Bay St. Louis received, but also there may have just been such an extreme number of houses destroyed in New Orleans that it was just taking that much longer.  It’s hard to decipher exactly why some areas have recovered faster, and how their ability to access resources and receive outside help may have modified their recovery.

For lunch, a few of us went to an amazing restaurant called mothers with the best po’ boy sandwiches I’ve ever had.  It was definitely a favorite spot in the city, and seemed to be a good representation of where the locals go to eat.

Today we visited the 9th Ward of New Orleans and a social group entitled ACORN. ACORN is the nation’s largest community organization of low and moderate income families, striving for social justice and stronger communities. It seems that ACORN works for the downtrodden and poor in the midst of a city that is trying to disenfranchise them. While listening to the representative from ACORN, the concept of gentrification popped into my mind. Although the formal definition of gentrification involves physical renovation that brings about raised property values and an influx of upper-class citizens who prevent the former, lower class dwellers, from returning to their homes, there seem to be many parallels. While the major “renovations” obviously came from the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, the fact still remains that the upper-class inhabitants of New Orleans seem to be preventing the flow of minorities and the underprivileged from coming back into their homes.

Again, we can see the perfect example of how people with means and power can control and manipulate the system to make it work in their favor. These rich people stand to gain millions of dollars by disenfranchising the people who are now viewed as refugees throughout the country. The fact that some people are being turned away from their homes is very disturbing to say the least. It is ridiculous to me that some people are more concerned with profiting from the tragedies of Katrina rather than showing compassion enough to try to find ways to make things better for everyone. ACORN seems to work against such disenfranchisements and I honor their efforts.

While traveling through the 9th ward, it became quite apparent just how much damage New Orleans has endured in certain areas. The major problems, as we have all talked about to great extent, came when the levees broke. Apparently, New Orleans did dodge the bullet in terms of the storm, however, the water that accumulated behind the levee surged so strongly that water flooded the entire city and created more problems than many other areas victim to the storm. This mistake was avoidable and manmade, not a product of a natural disaster. ACORN representatives explained that the politics behind accountability are entirely frustrating and the end is no where in sight at the moment. I feel that politicians and government officials have a responsibility to protect its citizens and not treat people like second class citizens in their country. All of the people displaced from Katrina have homes and they deserve to be in them like everyone else. The practices occurring in terms of Katrina business seem to only facilitate the disenfranchisement of minorities and the poor while perpetuating the vicious cycle government failures at the present time.

Today was easily the most moving day of the trip. Yesterday was powerful in seeing the total destruction, but today was so incredibly compelling in that I got to have extensive conversations with two people affected by the hurricane. Even though I would love to share all of their stories with everyone so that they could have the same experience I did, out of respect for their privacy, I’m just going to talk about the things they said that had the greatest impact on me.

The first person we talked to made one comment that really moved me. She said, “FEMA and insurance don’t make you whole.” While there are levels on which I knew this to be the case, to hear the words come out of her mouth made me stop and think. In response to the news reports about the aid to victims, so much attention is paid to the type of aid that these people are receiving that we forget that the repercussions run so much deeper. The emotional havoc the destruction was wreaked on these people absolutely breaks my heart. I’m not sure what we can do to help with that, other than to offer expressions of love and support in their efforts to rebuild.

Our second interview was equally moving. The man we interviewed spent the first few minutes speaking at length about his love for the community before the storm and what a wonderful place it was to live. It brought tears to my eyes to hear him talk about his home with such love. What was also striking was the generosity that this man continued to exhibit, despite the fact that he and his wife lost everything they had. I don’t know how anyone could continue to have such a gracious and giving attitude. He told us a story about doing repair work that really touched me. His brother and a friend from college had come down to help them clean out their house and get it ready for repairs. Because of all the debris in the yard, they couldn’t see out into the street. He turned to his family and friend and said, “How are we ever going to get all of this done?” No sooner where the words out of his mouth than he heard a voice outside asking if anyone needed any help. He gave the indication that having groups come in and help was what allowed the city to achieve as much as it has in two and a half years. More than anything else, I just wanted to make it all right again for him and his wife. While I know that I can’t realistically do this, I like to think that giving him an opportunity to talk about his experience had a cathartic effect.

This is my first post in a while as I have had a rough couple of days, emotionally speaking. At the church this morning, I thought again of something that has bothered me off and on throughout the trip and hit home most especially in Hancock County.

Primum non nocere means “First, do no harm.” Sociology involves the science of observing people and then analyzing how and why they behave the way they do. I am not a sociologist, but the techniques of observation and analysis are familiar to me from my doctoral work. What has bothered me is the risk we take in harming the people that we study through the very act of observation. I was uncomfortable at both the George Washington Carver homes and the Lower 9th Ward because it seemed we were close to the line, if not crossing it, of gawking at the residents of the neighborhood and causing them discomfort. A 45′ bus is not an easy thing to disguise and neither is a multicultural group of 23 people with cameras. A number of participants have already blogged guiltily about the hand-lettered sign on a falling-down house in the 9th ward reminding us that “1600 people died 4 u 2 take this picture.”

In Hancock County, students had the additional complication of carrying out a service project while at the same time being trained to observe social stratification issues around them. These blogs are wonderful tools for collaborative work but they are also a public display of research in progress. In the 72 hours we stayed in Hancock County, views of the community matured rapidly among many participants. Surface observations at the beginning of the trip often did not hold up to be valid. The consensus at the end was that this was a strong, closely knit community trying its best to recover from a storm of unnatural ferocity and restore the community to all its residents. We went to help, I only hope that we did no harm.

The second day in Hancock was another very interesting day of our journey. We met a few people that experience the bad side of hurricane Katrina; they took us through the days before the hurricane and the days after the hurricane. They also told us about what they did to get money to try and get there community back to what it was. They also fill that New Orleans is getting more help than them and it wasn’t even hit by hurricane. Just being in the community I saw a lot if people that was really close and you can tell that they all were trying to help each other out. It was really sad to see that the hurricane wipe out every house that was on the beach front of that city. I even saw a “BANK” and the only thing that was left was the Vault, which was crazy. Hancock County is a nice place and is going to be beautiful when it gets back to normal, and the people are extremely nice also.

These are the powerful words inscribed on a t-shirt in a gift shop in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Bourbon Street. The breach of the levees (yes, plural) in New Orleans led to mounds of destruction and death. Water rushed in from multiple canals and the Miss. River through the streets and into houses taking the lives of many who did not expect such a surge, literally moving houses down the streets on top of other houses (and you can still see that image here , I stood right in front of such a scenario today). I walked through the Lower 9th Ward and it is a veritable ghost town. There are some houses standing, but most are nowhere near liveable. They all have spray-painting on them relaying if a certain structure is toxic, how many people died in it, and how many pets died in it.

Walking down the street I tried to envision how this neighborhood was before Katrina. How many brothers, mothers, uncles, cousins, nieces lived in a close-knit community blocks away from one another? How many senior citizens lived in these houses and sat out on the front stoop telling younger people stories of the past? How many kids rode their bikes through the area and played basketball in the streets? These are of New Orleans may have been poor before the storm, but one thing I am sure was there before the storm was life. A life that was lived day by day unaware of the weak levee system “protecting” their neighborhood. Water rushed in from 3 angles into this community and one thing that is barely present 2 years later is life.

We got to New Orleans yesterday afternoon after our drive from Bay St. Louis. I’ve never been to New Orleans so I didn’t know what to expect, especially after seeing the destruction of the hurricane in Bay St. Louis. I may be completely ignorant, but I didn’t know that most of the damage in New Orleans came from the levies breaking as opposed the hurricane itself. Anyway today was sort of a weird day for me. We explored some of the city last night and by that I mean we went to Bourbon St. We had a great time. Certainly a different experience from the incredible bar scene of Winston-Salem, NC. Today I started to feel really guilty though. There are many aspects of this trip that are disparate in nature and I’m not sure how to react to it. I mean here we are hanging out having a blast on Bourbon St. and then today we go to the Lower 9^th ward which was obliterated by the massive rush of water from the levies breaking. I don’t know how to take that in. My mom made the point that in order to rebuild the economy of New Orleans people need to visit here and go out, because that will bring money to the city. I just don’t know how much of that money is going places it NEEDS to go. I don’t know what to think. I really don’t.

This post is going to cover the span of a few days. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting, and I think I have a better idea of how I feel about the experience in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi now. I know it may have been a good idea to express some emotions as I went along, but they were too raw and I hadn’t really processed anything well enough to articulate them. So here we go…

We arrived in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on Tuesday, after traveling from Montgomery/Selma, Alabama (which I still need to reflect on a bit and get a journal written about that!). It was a fairly long trip, but nothing compared to the first day. Towards the end of the drive we watched a video from a news story produced by CNN about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Bay St. Louis. It was narrated by a CNN correspondent who is actually from Bay St. Louis and the first time she was seeing the destruction from the hurricane was on camera. As we were watching the video it showed the wreckage of the houses caused by the insanely high winds and the water which rose to levels of 30 to 40 feet. Then I looked out the window and realized that everything I was seeing on the video screen was right outside. Very little has changed in the last 2 years and it seems that not a lot is being done to rebuild the city. I don’t mean that nothing is being done in the sense that people aren’t working towards it, but it is hard to see the progress. Most of that has to do with the fact that people are still dealing with insurance companies and trying to get settlements that compensate for a reasonable amount of the damage (although it seems that isn’t usually the case). With all that said, I was shocked. This may sound completely ignorant, but I expected a lot more progress to have been made in a nearly 2 year time frame. A person I encountered while in Bay St. Louis made the comment that people have forgotten about the Mississippi Gulf Coast and have the ability to ignore the damage that was done by the hurricane. I was one of those people. I just figured, ok its been 2 years they have to be rebuilding and people lives are basically back to normal. I guess there were many components that I had not taken into account and my perception of time and the ability to rebuild were very skewed.

Just as a little side note before I get into some pretty heavy things, we stayed at a hotel with a casino while in Bay St. Louis. I can see how people get addicted to gambling. I did win quite a bit of money overall though.

So onto some things with a bit more substance… The morning after we arrived, we went to Hancock County Library to begin our service learning there. The first day we were introduced to the people we would be working with. We were given a bus tour of Bay St. Louis and Waveland. It was really hard to see the destruction of the storm, especially because earlier in the day we heard some stories and saw pictures. It was a very different experience to see the houses, or lack thereof, and trailers on properties where homes used to be. I think the thing that stood out to me the most was the story we heard from the retired director of the Hancock County libraries. Afterwards I felt a little bit resentful towards her, because its hard to hear someone talk about losing boats when you know other people lost everything. My opinion was completely changed the a couple days later when I had the chance to interview her. I realize it must have been hard to know what part of her story to tell when she was talking to the entire group. I can’t imagine reliving it over and over. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to explain myself very well with what I want to say. I guess I’ll preface myself by saying first impressions are not always what they seem. You have to dig deeper to find out more about a person. If you’re not willing to dig deeper then you may completely misjudge someone or not understand their perspective.

We spent all day Thursday doing oral histories of library employees and doing research of historical landmarks in the area that were destroyed by the hurricane. The two interviews I help conduct that day were interesting, but not emotionally moving in the way I expected. I was actually a little disappointed when I didn’t get something jucier. I know that sounds weird, but thinking about it later I hope the people won’t regret that they didn’t take advantage of the experience. The final day at the library a group of us were given the opportunity to interview the retired director. It was a completely opposite experience from the first day we listened to her speak to us. It was a more intimate setting, so she must’ve felt more comfortable to be open. I sat there as she spoke to us and I kept thinking to myself I wish everyone else could be here to listen to this. I know that wasn’t an option. I walked out of the interview incredibly drained, because I had judged her so wrongly before. She has been through so many things that I couldn’t even comprehend dealing with. Yeah she had significant advantage over other people in the community because of the connections she has to local government agencies, but she made a great point. No one in the community would be able to progress if people who have privilege don’t take advantage of it. (I may have completely butchered her words, but it was something along those lines). It is necessary for some people to progress so they can help others. I really don’t even know how to explain how I felt after listening to her story. I felt a little guilty, but at the same time I’m so glad I was able to talk to her. She is a really amazing lady. I’m not sure what else to say about that right now.

Today was the first day we spent in Mississippi, and it was very different from all the other days of our trip. We woke up rather early to head over to the Hancock County Library in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi. Upon our arrival we were greeted by a number of library officials and even some city officials. The people who worked at the library then began to tell their stories about hurricane Katrina, and they had so much to tell that this portion of the meeting lasted for nearly three hours. I feel as though it is absolutely impossible for people who have not lived through it to understand what the devastation was like, but these peoples’ stories really helped to provide some insight. The most incredible part of this morning for me was a presentation given by Prima, the main librarian. This presentation entailed many before and after picture of the libraries, along with a before and after of her house. The before picture showed her beautiful house and pool on the water, and the after picture showed all that was left of the house: an oven and a dishwasher. I can’t even describe the goose bumps I had when listening to this presentation. We heard a variety of stories about the devastation the library staff faced, and how the community really came together to overcome such tragedy.

After spending the morning at the library and having lunch, we went on a tour of the area given by our friends at the Hancock county libraries. The things we saw on the bus tour of the town and of surrounding towns were absolutely incredible. I know that I am one of the many people guilty of thinking that the recovery process in Mississippi was mostly over, and the sights we saw on our tour absolutely confirmed the opposite. There were countless numbers of foundations where houses used to be, and so many houses still had a huge amount of damage. The rubble from the disaster was everywhere, and it was very hard to think that this occurred nearly two years ago. One typically thinks of two years as being a sufficiently long time to recover, but parts of this community look as if they were hit by the storm yesterday. It is just so chilling to see the images we saw on the bus today and realize how little progress has been made in some of these areas in almost two years. It just goes to show how much dire need of help this community was in; because half of the town is still completely ruined after what I had thought was a long time. It is obvious that the devastation from this storm is much deeper than I had ever imagined, even after looking at countless images of the terror Katrina brought. It was so moving to hear all the stories, and I am now really looking forward to interviewing some people tomorrow and recording their oral histories. It should be really interesting and moving to hear more stories in-depth, I just hope I don’t cry!

After spending some more time at the library in preparation of our interviews tomorrow, we headed back to the hotel for our group reflection. We were on our own for dinner, so Ronnie took a bunch of us down the street where we had a little bit of a choice of what to eat, and then went back to the hotel for the night. Last night I had a good time losing money on the slot machines, so tonight I’m planning on winning it all back. This time I’m going for roulette though, as I learned my lesson about slot machines last night.